The hostages who remain in Hamas captivity in Gaza may have faded from mainstream news, but in Israeli society, their plight remains deeply embedded in our everyday lives.
Even on days when it almost feels like life is returning to normal and we can nearly forget that we are still at war, there are photos, posters, and memorials planted all over the country to remind us that until they are home, nothing will ever truly be normal.
The families of five female hostages still held in Hamas captivity granted permission to release footage of their daughters’ abduction on October 7.
We’ve all seen the original horrific video of a terrorist grabbing 19-year-old Naama Levy by the hair and parading her as a trophy to Palestinians in the streets. We saw Naama bound, beaten, and bloodied. The video showed her limping around the camera, and as she turned, we saw blood stains on the crotch of her trousers, with her hands tied and her ankles cut.
Months later, we saw a brief clip of four female soldiers – Liri Albag, Karina Ariev, Agam Berger, and Daniella Gilboa – who were similarly beaten and bloodied. These harrowing visuals are seared into our minds and have likely traumatized the Jewish nation more profoundly than we even realize.
Released footage
Yet it has been over seven and a half months since their kidnappings, and somehow, even after hearing the testimonies of released hostages and statements made by public figures, NGOs, and doctors, the hostages remain captive to these barbaric terrorists.
To reignite pressure to resume the hostage deal negotiations, the families of these five women agreed to release three minutes and 10 seconds of footage from the day of their abduction. It shows the harrowing images of Albag, Ariev, Berger, Gilboa, and Levy, all in their pajamas, as the gunmen scream and tie them against the wall. In Arabic, one of the terrorists yells, “You dogs, we will step on you ... We will shoot you all,” and “these are the girls who can get pregnant.”
Another terrorist says in English, “You’re so beautiful.” These are the sick animals that these Israeli women have been with for almost eight months.
At the beginning of the video, Naama, her face covered in blood, says, “I have friends in Palestine,” reflecting her involvement in a peace initiative to bring Israelis and Palestinians together. It broke my heart to see Naama trying to reason with these monsters, clinging to any hope of humanity in them.
What is also frightening to consider is that the families decided to release only three minutes of what is said to be a much longer recording. I shudder to think of how much more horrific the complete footage recorded by Hamas could be.
The notion of a hostage deal has, unfortunately, sparked debate and division within certain segments of Israeli society. It was painful to watch the release of over 1,000 terrorists for Gilad Schalit, and equally difficult when we exchanged Palestinian prisoners for the last group of hostages.
While concerns about the risk of future terror attacks and the potential of rewarding terrorism through these deals are valid, Israeli society must understand that abandoning the hostages will have far-reaching consequences for all of us, consequences we may not be prepared for.
One of the principles of Zionism is the security and defense of the Jewish people, given our history of persecution and antisemitism. I moved to Israel with the belief that, as a Jew, I would be safer from antisemitism in a Jewish state. However, the events of October 7 and the months that followed shattered that belief. Witnessing one failed deal after another has shown me that the system may not make the tough decisions necessary to protect us.
There is now a mandatory draft in Israel, but why would anyone send their children to the army knowing that when situations become difficult, the government and military leaders might not come through? How can any soldier remain mentally strong while guarding our borders when so many of their comrades are in captivity with no end in sight? When we see that civilians are not as protected as we thought, why would anyone move to the Jewish state?
These issues matter deeply and will no doubt impact our national security. By abandoning these hostages, we risk scarring our society in ways from which we may never recover. Enough is enough. Bring them home now.
The writer is a social media activist with more than 10 years of experience working for Israeli and Jewish causes and cause-based NGOs. She is the co-founder and COO of Social Lite Creative, a digital marketing firm specializing in geopolitics.